Funding Change In Our ommunities - Bay Area Annual Report 2019

2019 Annual Report

In 2019, the Air District awarded more than $78 million in grant funds to eligible projects. Of these funds, $41 million directly benefited Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) and disadvantaged communities in support of AB 617 goals.

In total, these projects are expected to reduce over 328 tons per year of criteria pollutant emissions, including oxides of nitrogen, reactive organic compounds, and particulate matter, and approximately 20,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions.

Fig.06 Higher Ground

James cary smith
community grants program

THE AIR DISTRICT RENEWED A $250,000 ANNUAL GRANT FUND FOR NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS doing work in their communities to address air pollution and reduce global climate impacts. Grantees included Center for Climate Protection, Citizen Air Monitoring Network, Daily Acts Organization, Earth Team, Green Ninja Inc., Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Higher Ground, Literacy for Environmental Justice, Mycelium Youth Network, Neighborhood Development Corp., PODER, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness, Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, Sequoia Foundation, Strategic Energy Innovations, Sustainable Silicon Valley, TransForm, University of California Cooperative Extension Sonoma County, Valley Verde, Veggielution, and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.

community health protection grants program

A total of $350,000 in community readiness grant funds was awarded to community groups, neighborhood associations and other local nonprofits based in neighborhoods identified under AB 617 as year 2 to 5 communities. Grantees included Communities for a Better Environment, Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates, La Clinica de la Raza, Breathe California of the Bay Area, International Children Assistance Network, Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance, and All Positives Possible.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY GRANTS

A total of $53,400 in grant funds were awarded as microgrants to 22 public K-12 schools throughout the region with priority given to schools in high pollution areas. Projects included idle-free campaigns, Spare the Air community projects, urban green space projects, and climate protection and air quality programs.

1,046

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PORTS

supported with $5.1M in Air District grant funds

ACCELERATING ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADOPTION

GRANTS TO REDUCE
DIESEL AIR POLLUTION

The Air District awarded more than $50 million in Carl Moyer and Community Health Protection grant funds for projects that reduce toxic air emissions and ozone-forming pollutants from older, higher-polluting diesel engines, including medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses, mobile construction and industrial equipment, marine vessels, airport ground support, port cargo handling equipment, locomotives and school buses.

Approximately 70% of the funds were awarded to projects that benefit disadvantaged communities and low-income areas.

Acceleration of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle and equipment adoption

The Air District provides funding for projects that deploy commercially available zero-emission technologies in the medium- and heavy-duty sector. Beginning in 2019, school buses are increasingly transitioning to zero-emission with 65 diesel school buses replaced with battery-electric to date. In ports, funding has been awarded to replace diesel terminal tractors with battery-electric equipment.

Fig.07 Electric yard tractor at port

Wood smoke reduction

The Air District offers financial incentives to help Bay Area homeowners permanently remove and replace their wood-burning heating devices with cleaner options. In 2019, funding was provided to support the replacement and/or decommissioning of over 80 residential wood-burning devices with cleaner options.

diesel free by ‘33

Nearly 100 Bay Area community leaders and elected officials signed commitment letters to meet the program’s challenge.

Climate tech finance

The Air District’s first loan program, launched in 2018, has grown a network of over one thousand technology providers and potential users to identify and support projects that reduce greenhouse gases.

Vehicle Buy Back and Clean Cars
for All Grant Programs

The Vehicle Buy Back Program pays $1,000 per vehicle to Bay Area residents to retire older passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks that are model year 1996 or older. In 2019, more than 3,700 old vehicles were scrapped through this program.

In March 2019, the Air District launched its Clean Cars for All Program providing grant funds for the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles to low-income residents who live in neighborhoods suffering from higher levels of air pollution. The program seeks to expand low- and zero-emission vehicle adoption in communities disproportionately burdened by air pollution. Due to the high level of interest in the program, eligibility was opened to low-income residents in all Bay Area zip codes in November 2019. As of the close of 2019, $2 million in grant funds have been awarded to retire over 230 older vehicles through this program.